Ventilator for building eaves



1962 c. A. ANDERSON 3,018,713

'VENTILATOR FOR BUILDING .EAVES Filed Aug. 25, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet I FIG. 6

2lc| -I80 I90 INVENTOR CHESTER A ANDERSON ATTORNEYS BY ufee. P I

Jan. 30, 1962 c. A. ANDERSON 3,018,713

'VENTILATOR FOR BUILDING EAVES Filed Aug. 23, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2- INVENTOR CHESTER A. ANDERSQN wijwanum+ PaB/maflm ATTORNEYS 3,l8,?l.3 Patented Jan. 30, 1962 Fire 3,018,713 VENTILATOR FOR BUILDING EAVES Chester A. Anderson, New London, Minn, assignor of two-ninths each to Marvin 0. Edman, August Erickson, and John C. Lepier Filed Aug. 23, 1960, Ser. No. 51,361 3 Claims. (CI. 93-37) This invention relates to ventilator apparatus and more particularly to ventilator apparatus for ventilating building eaves and the like.

An object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved ventilator apparatus, of simple and inexpensive construction, for use in ventilating building eaves.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved ventilator apparatus for use in ventilating building eaves, the ventilator apparatus including a plurality of louver-defining elements arranged and constructed to ventilate overhanging roof eave structures in a more efiicient manner than any heretofore known comparable devices.

Another object of this invention is to provide a louveredtype ventilator apparatus for use in ventilating building eaves and including a plurality of flexible resilient attachment elements for readily attaching the apparatus to a roof eave structure.

A. still further object of this invention is to provide a ventilator apparatus for ventilating building eaves, the ventilating apparatus having a plurality of louverdefining elements arranged and constructed to cause lateral dispersal of the air passing through the apparauts and including a plurality of resilient flexible attachment elements adapted to cooperatively engage the roof eave structure to define snap coupling therewith to thereby permit ready attachment of the ventilator apparatus to a roof eave structure.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will more fully appear from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like character references refer to the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a roof eave construction incorporating my invention with parts thereof broken away for clarity;

'IG. 2 is a cross-sectional view on a slightly enlarged scale taken approximately along line 2-2 of FIG. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 3 is a top-plan view on a slightly enlarged scale taken approximately along line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a bottom-plan view of the ventilator as illustrated in FIG. 3 of the drawings;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of one type of attachment cli FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a modified form of the attachment clip;

FIG. 7 is a top-plan view of a different embodiment of my ventilator apparatus;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken approximately along line 8-8 of FIG. 7 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken approximately along line 9-9 of FIG. 7 looking in the direction of the arrows, the attachment means and portion of the roof eave structure being indicated by dotted line configuration;

FIG. 10 is a top-plan view of a still further embodiment of my ventilator apparatus;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken approximately along line 11-11 of FIG. 10 and looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional View taken approximately along line 12-12 of FIG. 10 and looking in the direction of the arrows, certain of the parts illustrated in a difierent position by dotted line configuration.

Referring now to the drawings and more specifically to FIGS. 1 to 4, it will be seen that one embodiment of my invention is shown secured to the underside of an overhanging eave structure in closing relation to the ventilating opening formed therein. The roof structure, designated by the reference character R includes a plurality of inclined rafters 10 which extend outwardly beyond the vertical walls of a building to define overhanging eave structure 11. Although not specifically shown in the drawing, the rafters will be notched and will be secured to the vertical wall joist in a conventional manner as is well known in the art. The eaves 11 may be closed by ply wood panels 11a as best seen in FIG. 1 or may be closed by boards or the like.

In order to eliminate condensation of moisture in the attic areas above the ceiling of the house, ventilation is necessary and ventilators are installed at the roof gables. However, to obtain complete ventilation and to aid in cooling as well as heating a building it is also necessary to ventilate the overhanging eave structures so that air may circulate through the air pockets defined by these eaves. Ventilating openings 12 are formed in the eave panels 11a and my novel ventilating apparatus 13, as best seen in FIG. 1 is adapted to be secured to the cave panel 11 in closing relation to the opening 12.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the ventilating opening 12 is of substantially circular shape and the ventilator apparatus is also of circular configuration but slightly larger than the opening 12. This ventilator apparatus 15 includes a substantially flat circular member or body 14 formed of rigid material and preferably of aluminum because of its rust-proof characteristic. Referring now to FIG. 2, it will be seen that member 14 is provided with an annular peripheral groove or channel 15a which serves to effectively reinforce the marginal portions of the member.

Member 14, as best seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, is also provided with a plurality of upwardly struck bridge or loop elements 16 each defining a louver. Each of these louvers 16 also define a ventilating aperture 17 through which air may circulate into the over-hanging eave structure as best seen in FIG. 1. It will be noted that each of the louvers 16 is of substantially U-shaped configuration and includes'upstanding legs 16a interconnected by a bight portion 16b.

Referring now to FIG. 1, it will be seen that each of the louvers 16 cooperates with its associated ventilating aperture 17 to cause air passing through the latter from the exterior of the roof eaves to be dispersed in a lateral direction thus insuring complete circulation throughout the interior of the eave structure. It will also be seen that louvers 16 are arranged in radially extending rows so that air passing through the ventilating apertures 17 will be distributed in all directions thus insuring maximum circulation and ventilation of air within this attic eave space.

Means are also provided for quickly and securely attaching the flat body member 14 in closing relation to a ventilating opening 12 of a roof eave structure and these attaching means are in the form of elongate flexible resilient attachment members 18, as best seen in FIGS. 1, 5 and 6. The attachment member illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5 is formed of substantially fiat, rigid but resilient and flexible metallic material and includes a ventilatorsecuring portion 19 having an upwardly protruding medial portion 20, as best seen in FIG. 5.

This securing portion 19 is adapted to be inserted through a pair of aligned louvers 16 so that the upwardly protruding medial portion 20 cooperates with these louvers to cause the ventilating securing portion 19 to be frictionally engaged by the flat body portion 14. Attachment members 18 also include an upwardly extending leg portion 21, the terminal end of which protrudes outward ly as at 22 also clearly shown in FIG. 5. When the securing portion 19 of each of the attachment members 18 is secured to the fiat body member 14, these upwardly extending leg portions 21 and thei associated protruding terminal portions 22 may be caused to flex radially inwardly with respect to the axis of the flat body member 14 so that these outwardly protruding terminal portions will snap into place to firmly and quickly secure the flat body member 14 in closing relation to a ventilator opening 12, as best seen in FIG. 1. It will, therefore, be seen that these attachment elements 18 cooperatively engage the edge of a ventilating opening formed in an cave structure to define a snap coupling arrangement therewith as illustrated in FIG. 2. This arrangement permits quick and ready attachment of the ventilator apparatus to the cave structure and obviates the need of securing the ventilator by conventional securing means such as nails or the like.

Referring now to FIG. 6 it will be seen that a modified form of the attachment member is illustrated and this modified attachment member, designated 18a, is of similar configuration to the one illustrated in FIG. but is formed of an elongate wire or the like bent into U- shaped configuration. Each of these attachment members 18a includes a pair of legs of similar configuration and each including a ventilator-securing portion 19a having an upwardly protruding medial portion 20a in the manner of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 5. Each of the legs of the attachment members 18a also includes an upwardly extending portion 21a each having an outwardly protruding terminal portion 22a the ends of which are integrally joined by the bight of the member 18a. These attachment members 18a function in the same manner as the embodiments shown in FIG. 5. It will be noted that the louvers 16 besides performing their air-deflecting function also permit ready attachment and detachment of the attachment members 18 and 18a thus obviating the need of having apertures formed in the body member 14 through which screws or nails may be passed.

It is pointed out that the thickness of the boards which define the eaves panels vary in thickness and both embodiments of the attachment members 18 and 18a are accordingly constructed of boards or pressed wood preferably having a thickness of inch, inch or /1 inch. It has been found that eaves panels constructed of pressed wood, which is used extensively, is exceedingly difficult to hammer nails or tacks into because of the inherent resiliency of the material. Screws have been used to secure conventional ventilating apparatus to eaves panels constructed of pressed wood and this method of attachment has been found to be time consuming and therefore undesirable. It will, therefore, be seen that a substantial savings in labor cost can be etfected through the use of my device.

Referring now to FIGS. 7 to 9, it will be seen that a different embodiment of my ventilator apparatus designated generally by the reference numeral 30 includes a substantially rectangular fiat body member 31 formed of a suitable rigid metallic material such as aluminum in the manner of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 4. This body member 31 is provided with a peripheral groove or channel 32, as best seen in FIGS. 7 and 9 which serves to provide a rigid reinforced marginal portion. The body member 31 also is provided with upwardly struck bridge or loop elements defining louvers 33 each including legs 33a and bight portions 33b interconnecting the legs 33a. The upwardly struck louvers 33 also define apertures 34 through which air will pass in the manner of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. It will be noted that the louvers 33 are arranged in aligned pairs adjacent the longer sides of the members 30 and aligned selected pairs of these louvers are adapted to receive the ventilator-engaging portion of one of the attachment members 18 therein as illustrated by dotted line configuration in FIGS. 7 and 9. It will also be seen that a body member 31 is provided with intermediate reinforcing ribs or channels 35 which serve to strengthen intermediate portions of the ventilator apparatus.

Ventilator apparatus 30 may also be installed in the manner of the embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 4 and the attachment members 18 may be secured to aligned pairs of louvers 32. adjacent the corners of the ventilator body member 30. When the ventilator apparatus 30 is secured to cave structure, air passing through the ventilating apertures 34 will be deflected laterally to affect complete distribution of the air.

Referring now to FIGS. 10 to 12, a still further embodiment of my ventilating apparatus is shown and is generally designated by the reference numeral 40. This ventilating apparatus 40 includes an elongate substantially rectangular but narrow flat body member 41 preferably formed of rigid high strength material such as aluminum and which may be inserted between opposed spaced apart hoards 1117, as seen in FIGS. 11 and 12. In this instance, the eaves rather than being formed of ply wood panelling may be covered with boards. A relatively narrow elongate ventilating opening 1212 may be formed by adjacent spaced apart boards. Elongate body member 41 is also provided with a plurality of upstanding U-shaped bridge or loop elements 42 each including legs 42a and a bight portion 42b. These U-shaped members define louvers in the manner of the previously described embodiments and also define ventilating openings 42 through which air passes. Air will be deflected by these louvers 42 in the manner of the previously described embodiments and will be caused to pass laterally immediately after passing through the openings 43.

Referring now to FIG. 10, it will be seen that a ventilator apparatus 40 is illustrated as including the modified form of the attachment members 18a and these attachment members will readily engage the opposed boards 11b of the cave structure 11. This ventilator apparatus body member 41 is also provided with elongate longitudinally extending grooves or reinforcing channels 44 which extend along the longer edges thereof to effectively reinforce the same.

It will, therefore, be seen from the preceding paragraphs we have provided a novel building eaves ventilator which is readily attachable to a roof cave construction for ventilating the same. It will be noted from the foregoing description that the novel ventilator apparatus includes snap coupling attachment means which are arranged and constructed for ready positioning and attachment to an eave construction thus effecting a great saving in labor and time.

It will also be seen from the above description that my novel ventilator apparatus includes louver defining elements which are arranged and constructed to cause widespread air distribution through the air ventilator and into the attic eaves area thereby ventilating attic eaves structures in a more efficient manner than any heretofore known comparable devices.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various parts without departing from the scope of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. Ventilator apparatus for use in ventilating building eaves, said apparatus comprising substantially flat, rigid metallic member having a plurality of apertures formed therein and being adapted to be disposed in closing relation to a ventilating opening of a roof eave construction, said member having a plurality of spaced-apart bridge elements struck upwardly from one surface thereof and each being associated with one of said apertures, each of said bridge elements defining a louver cooperating with its associated apertures for causing air passing through the latter to be directed laterally when said ventilator apparatus is connected to a roof eave construction, and a plurality of similar, resilient, flexible attachment elements, each having a portion thereof underlying certain of said bridge members and being frictionally engaged thereby and being detachable therefrom, each attachment element extending upwardly from said one surface of said member being adapted to frictionally engage a roof cave construction and cooperating therewith for securing the member in closing relation with the ventilating opening of such a roof eave construction.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said attachment elements has an outwardly protruding upper terminal portion.

3. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said bridge elements is of substantially U-shaped configuration.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,339,437 Dickleman May 11, 1920 2,513,056 Scallon June 27, 1950' 2,607,282 Gilbert Aug. 19, 1952 2,718,187 Frisby Sept. 20, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 743,204 France Jan. 6, 1933 

